Orpheus Sings in Hades Brookville, Pennsylvania Day 8 - Monday - June 10, 2002  Back   |   Next

The hills between Buckhorn and Brookville totally sap my motivation. It is only the people that I have met on the road, their hospitality and generosity, as well as the introjection of good times with friends that keep me going. I sing the Marine Corps Hymn and remember my days at Firebase Zulu in Monrovia, and aboard the USS Whidbey Island: From the Halls of Montezuma To the shores of Tripoli We will fight our country's battles In the air, on land, and sea. First to fight for right and freedom And to keep our honor clean We are proud to claim the title Of United States Marines And I sing the W&M Hymn and as I sing, peddling through Pennsylvanian wilderness I can hear the clapping and foot thumping in beat at the King and Queen's Ball just after the band played the last song, and so the students played on with the W&M Hymn: William and Mary, loved of old Hark upon the gale Hear the thunder of our chorus Alma mater hail. This is not something I usually do, but this tone deaf, musically illiterate Orpheus does like to sing. Since I don't have access to showers, I have to improvise: the back roads of Pennsylvania work for me.      Welcome to Pennsylvania Just before a town called Patton, I am coasting down a hill. A dog bark grabs my attention from the road. A cujo-looking German Shepard darts from the porch shade and sprints across the yard on an intercept course for my bike and me. I peddle faster, heart beating with a surge of adrenaline, as I see the dog coming closer, tongue hanging loose between yellow canine teeth, I am past the house and dog misses the intercept and only manages to catch up to the tail end of my trailer (I imagine because I didn't dare look back for fear of losing balance and falling and then getting pounced upon by rabid beast). I look back as I begin the next ascent. The dog is nowhere in sight. On my way to Brookville and climbing up another hill my rear derailleur malfunction and chain pops off and hits many spokes, which prevent me from riding the lowest gear in the middle chain ring. Not much of problem.